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Thursday noon is the Hasbro Transformers panel, once again in the 400-seater known as 25ABC. Also among the tempting panels is The X-Files 20th anniversary panel, John Barrowman (Doctor Who, Arrow) gets his own "anything goes" panel, and Ashley "Ahsoka Tano" Eckstein is on a panel with Erin "Col. Wilma Deering" Gray that day as well.

Friday is again not mentioned as "Star Wars day", but is running programming of course. The day thankfully does NOT start with Hasbro SW but comics, followed by the SW collectibles - which is counter-programming a panel I'd like to see, the first real hard choice of the con. SW Authors follows, I dunno if I'll stick for that, but it looks like I've now got a second counter-program if I do SW collectibles at the tail end, ouch. 1pm is the Hasbro SW panel, so I may just have to bear it out in the room. AND DAMNIT IF THAT ISN'T COUNTER-PROGRAMMED BY ANOTHER HASBRO PANEL I WANTED TO SEE!!! Yes, Hasbro SW is counter-programmed against Hasbro IDW Transformers/GI Joe comics, this panel is the one we ditched at Botcon because we wanted lunch and were sure we'd see it at SDCC, damn you, Murphy's Law! Friday just keeps getting brutal like that. And then, after some more panels, METALLICA HAS A PANEL! Wow, Metallica has a panel, that's awesome, Hall H though, that'll be... interesting. Sorry Drew Struzan, I'd like to check out your panel, but you didn't record Ride the Lightning. Oh, but I forgot, I've also got to meet some friends that evening, this oughta be as challenging as ever.

Saturday for me would start with Quick-Draw if it were not for the extended line I'll be waiting in for Futurama. Someone has a SW vs Serenity panel that seems... ok, it seems stupid and it didn't even get "Firefly" right in the title, but who knows. A lot of really good comic creator spotlights this day too - George Perez, Paul Dini, JMS... LEONARD MALTIN?!? Wow, why is a movie critic getting a spotlight? Saints Row 4 panel, not sure whether to attend or picket. Looks like the latter half of the day is where panels start to get busy again for me.

Sunday has Cartoon Voices 2, maybe Maurice LaMarche will put his foot in his mouth again like he did at last year's Wondercon, but at the same time has the Doctor Who 50th panel followed by Community and It's Always Sunny, so that's what I'll be doing. Ugh, but Diamond Select Toys is having a panel during It's Always Sunny, so I might duck out for that - naturally it's on the OPPOSITE SIDE OF THE CONVENTION CENTER. Looks like I'll be missing the first part of Starship Smackdown this year, but I'll make it before close.

Darth Vader is becoming the Mickey Mouse of Star Wars.

"In Brooklyn, a castle, is where dwell I"

The use of a lightsaber does not make one a Jedi, it is the ability to not use it.

MMPR Bandai Limited Edition 4” Metallic Green Dragon Ranger figure: This collector’s item features a high quality 4” figure in full metallic paint and an exclusive Diecast "Dinosaur Tribe" Ranger Coin that will work with the Legacy Power Morpher. Only 500 produced. Price $25.

MMPR Tamashii Stage Set (Red, Green, and Armored Red Ranger): Excited for the upcoming S.H. Figuarts Mighty Morphin Power Rangers releases? So are we! In fact so much so, that we have decided to release exclusive Tamashii Stands for the Red and Green Ranger debuting in July. An SDCC 2013 exclusive, three personalized stands are included in the pack, and will only be available for purchase at Bluefin’s booth during the convention. An extremely limited number are being made only for North America, and when they’re sold out, that’s it. Available at SDCC 2013 for $15.

S.H. Figuarts Power Rangers Super Samurai Metallic Coating Deluxe Action Figure Set: Rangers together, Samurai forever! This San Diego Comic-Con 2013 exclusive collectors’ set features all of the Samurai Rangers in an exquisite metallic finish only found in this commemorative 5-pack, including the Red Ranger in Super form, as well as the Blue, Green, Yellow, and Pink Rangers, which were originally Web exclusives in Asia and have never been released in the US before! Each comes with their full arsenal of accessories, including multiple handsets, and their signature weapons. Quantities will be limited so don’t miss out! Go Go Power Rangers! Available at SDCC 2013 for $200.

"Red Mighty Morphin Ranger (P-188)": Promotional "Power Rangers Action Card Game" card. Free, but in limited supply. Available outside between the convention center and onto the sidewalks and grass area across from the Gas Lamp District. Be on the lookout for Saban volunteers handing out the card.

Well, it is the 20th anniversary. Still, that is a lot of stuff. I've never understood their presence at Comic-Con, it's very small but tries to be very loud.

And that is only the stuff I know about. Who knows what exclusives Nickelodeon, Mega Bloks, Acme Archive and Shout! Factory may have up their sleeves pertaining to Power Rangers this year.

Come to think of it, I think Mega Bloks is actually doing the same thing they did last year for Power Rangers (free "blind pack" figurines and free posters), except this year they are for Megaforce (where as last year they were for Samurai). There we go, a picture of this year's exclusive Power Rangers Mega Bloks poster. Just one more stop for you to make if you can find the time.

Ooh, I'll be glued to the Hasbro coverage next Friday at 1 PST, good to know.

The "Welcome to the New Age" panel on Friday mentions costume designer Keith Christensen as working on Episode VII. I don't know in what capacity he'll be involved, but he's worked on most of the big action movies of the last few years, so it's very likely.

With Comic-Con International starting next week, anticipation for Episode VII has many curious as to where Star Wars will have an official presence during this summer's convention season.

The biggest Star Wars convention presence this summer is, without a doubt, Star Wars Celebration Europe (July 26-28, 2013) in Essen, Germany. This official convention will include appearances from cast and crew from the six Star Wars films, and for the first time, Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy, as well as other behind-the-scenes talents who will help shape the future of Star Wars.

In addition, Lucasfilm and Star Wars will continue to be a fixture at San Diego Comic-Con International (July 17-21), with a massive floor presence on the convention floor, and Friday is once again "Star Wars Day," with panels about books, comics and collectibles. Despite speculation to the contrary, however, there will be no Episode VII content.

The D23 Expo in Anaheim (August 9-11) will, for the first time, include Star Wars as part of its programming. A floor exhibit will track the evolution of the classic character Darth Vader, and a Star Wars 101 Panel, "A Crash Course in the Force" hosted by Lucasfilm's Pablo Hidalgo, will introduce Disney fans to the history of the saga.

I've seen rumors that they would be announcing the return of the big three at D23, but it's left vague here - the only place we know for sure there will be no Episode VII content is SDCC. So it seems that any big reveals are most likely to come out of CEII, with the presence at D23 pretty small and really to introduce the Disney crowd to Star Wars.

Ooh, I'll be glued to the Hasbro coverage next Friday at 1 PST, good to know.

The "Welcome to the New Age" panel on Friday mentions costume designer Keith Christensen as working on Episode VII. I don't know in what capacity he'll be involved, but he's worked on most of the big action movies of the last few years, so it's very likely.

I've seen rumors that they would be announcing the return of the big three at D23, but it's left vague here - the only place we know for sure there will be no Episode VII content is SDCC. So it seems that any big reveals are most likely to come out of CEII, with the presence at D23 pretty small and really to introduce the Disney crowd to Star Wars.

No Filoni at all on the SDCC schedule, not a big surprise.

Good catch on the Welcome to the New Age panel listing mentioning "Star Wars 7".

I'll put that panel into my "maybe" schedule, I'm already double-booked at that time but who knows.

Darth Vader is becoming the Mickey Mouse of Star Wars.

"In Brooklyn, a castle, is where dwell I"

The use of a lightsaber does not make one a Jedi, it is the ability to not use it.

Sandtroopers put up a gallery of the Boba and carbonite Han set. JT, does the shoulder armor look better to you here? I'm not sure if they changed anything like they've done so far. Anyway, this figure looks pretty damn awesome - I don't need the $25 Han (or the headache of trying to get it), but I will probably get it when it gets released individually.

Sandtroopers put up a gallery of the Boba and carbonite Han set. JT, does the shoulder armor look better to you here? I'm not sure if they changed anything like they've done so far. Anyway, this figure looks pretty damn awesome - I don't need the $25 Han (or the headache of trying to get it), but I will probably get it when it gets released individually.

Shoulder armor is painted shallowly to mitigate the problem, but still painted thick and sculpted even thicker.

Were those pics taken by Stevie Wonder? I'd guess someone got a DSLR and doesn't know about aperture settings and focal planes.

Those pics confirm to me that this thing is not ready for prime time at $50 from my pocket, out of context those images could be any modern 3.75" Boba Fett figure, certainly nothing "high-end" that Gentle Giant or Sideshow or Kotobukiya would ever put out. I ask myself, where would my money be better spent, this thing or an ARTfx+ figure or 2pack? And it's not even close, Koto's sculpting and deco is lightyears ahead of this for LESS money, and with enough extra limbs to make most of these poses look better than this figure can accomplish. And the choices of "premiere" paint areas is weird, some stuff gets weathering and flourish while others are simple.

How high is the carbonite block floating horizontal stand? I like that, but it looks too low for this Fett figure to push, but that could be the photography.

Darth Vader is becoming the Mickey Mouse of Star Wars.

"In Brooklyn, a castle, is where dwell I"

The use of a lightsaber does not make one a Jedi, it is the ability to not use it.